Millennial Men: Beauty Influencers

Millennial men are gaining influence in categories many might find surprising. According to a study from Engagement Labs, reported in Mobile Marketer, millennial men are “69% more likely than all men to be influencers in the beauty category, and 47% more likely to be influencers in the retail and apparel categories.”

Millennial men are even talking about companies in these industries more than millennial women. The report says millennial men have about 11.7 daily brand-related conversations, while men ages 40-69 have about half that many (6.5), and millennial women talk about brands 9.9 times a day.

Nor are these conversations limited to traditionally male-oriented products, Mobile Marketer says: Millennial men are talking about things like kids’ clothing.

The Engagement Labs’ reports says 73% of millennial men discuss marketing or ads they’ve seen, while only 58% of women do the same. This, they say, is “a shift in the balance of influencing power as well as a key opportunity area for marketers.”

Mobile Marketer reports on another survey—this one from Saatchi & Saatchi NY—that says marketers need to pay more attention to the evolving roles in millennial families. In fact, 74% of American millennial fathers “think advertisers and marketers are out of touch with modern family dynamics, and 85% say [fathers] know more than people give them credit for.”

The lesson here is an old one: Never assume. Consumer behaviors are shifting, and you need to change your marketing (and perhaps your products and services) to appeal to potential and current customers.